Meat mains
Steak and kidney pie
Earthy kidney adds richness to succulent steak in this most British of pies. Eat with mash or baked potatoes and lots of greens. The meat can be cooked in advance and kept in the fridge or frozen until needed. If you don't want to make the suet pastry, use a rolled out ready-made puff pastry sheet instead and brush it with beaten egg before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil for frying, e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- 450g steak and kidney pack
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 450ml beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- splash Worcestershire sauce
- 160g self raising flour
- 80g suet
- about 75ml water, to mix
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas 8.
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Step 2
Heat the oil and fry the steak until browned, in batches if necessary. Remove with a slotted spoon into a dish and keep to one side.
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Step 3
Fry the kidney until browned, remove from the pan and reserve with the steak.
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Step 4
Add a little more oil if needed, and fry the onion for a few minutes to soften.
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Step 5
Put all the meat back into the pan, stir in the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for a couple of minutes.
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Step 6
Add the stock, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
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Step 7
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a bare simmer and cook for about 1½ hours.
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Step 8
Check the meat is tender and cook for another half an hour if needed. Next, put the meat into a pie dish and reduce the sauce if necessary.
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Step 9
To make the pastry, mix the flour, suet and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix in just enough cold water to bring the pastry together; it should be slightly sticky.
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Step 10
Leave for 5 minutes, then roll out to a thickness of about ¾-1cm. Wet the edge of the pie dish and lay the pastry on top, pressing down to seal.
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Step 11
Make a small slit in the middle to let the steam out, then cook in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and turning golden.
